Lead rope solo ropes

Hi i found a dealing beal 9.5 jamma I use a grigri plus in top rope mode with chest harness and device inverted. Do you think a 9.5 would be OK to feed or too thick. Thanks 

Beal ropes are perfect for LRS because they're very stretchy. 9.5mm will work great with any grigri for LRS. I use a Beal Booster 9.7mm and am very happy with it, 9.5 should work very similarly. 

It should work, I use a 9.2mm though I've seen Brent Bargahn recommend using sub-9mm ropes for the best feeding. 

Per Brent, "Skinnier is generally better if you are in GriGri+ TR Mode, improving feeding and reducing weight of the rope on your harness. The slightly stretchier skinny ropes even make the rope solo falls more comfy as the rope comes tight against a rigid anchor. My go to cragging LRS rope is the 8.6mm Canary. For multipitching, I use the 8.9mm Swift Protect for its cut resistance. Derek even uses the 8.2mm Protect sheath half rope for moderate mileage - it’s cut resistant sheath tests as high as a standard 9.5mm lead line, but your Gri better be in TR mode!"

Source

Far be it from me to argue with Brent, he's far more knowledgeable and experienced than myself. But I just wanted to point out that I think his usage of very skinny ropes is actually relatively uncommon-- I think most people are using ropes in the size range that OP is talking about and they have good results.

I use the same setup and found that my 9.5 fed fine for a long time but now as the rope is getting older there's a noticeable decline in feeding performance (relative to belaying a partner with the same rope). My other rope is an 8.5 which is awesome for long approaches, LRS or otherwise, but now I'm looking for a middle ground and probably getting a Joker (9.1) or similar. 

Ricky Harlinewrote:

Far be it from me to argue with Brent, he's far more knowledgeable and experienced than myself. But I just wanted to point out that I think his usage of very skinny ropes is actually relatively uncommon-- I think most people are using ropes in the size range that OP is talking about and they have good results.

Agreed! I think you're right that most of us are using 9+mm ropes for this. I'm hesitant to go skinnier because I have a Beal Opera 8.5mm for example, and that thing stretches like crazy. So while the catch would be super soft, I already know I'm probably taking oversized whips if I fall and I don't want to add to those distances via skinny rope elongation 

I LRS about 50 days per year, and have been for a really long time.  I currently use 8.9 - Swift Protect for LRS with grigri plus inverted and held up.  I have been using sub 9mm ropes for LRS for the last 5 years or so.  I wouldn't go back to 9.0mm+ for a LRS specific rope unless it was for a big wall I planned to jug on follow.  If you are careful with re-directs a sub 9mm rope can last quite a while.

Thanks everyone saw the videos with Brent and Ryan at how not 2 and saw Brent ran 8.5 and 9.8 is too thick so didn't k ow where 9.5 on scale was thanks for all your help

I use an opera (8.5) and that works well for me. I got an 8.2 to play with this year for harder red points, but I haven't had a chance to test that yet. it's hard to beat the opera though, even with 60+ meters on my harness it still felt "light enough". 

Maybe everyone here is a badass and I'm a big chicken (a distinct possibility) but LRS is scary and dental floss ropes don't give me the warm fuzzies. If you're a chicken like me I would highly advise the 8.9 aramid rope from edelrid. Cut resistance of a much larger rope gives the warm fuzzies where other skinny ropes don't. 

Also it's a beast of a rope that is astonishingly durable.